Big launch this afternoon for cheaper access to space

SpaceX, the California-based rocket company that may build a spaceport in South Texas, faces a big test today.

For the first time the company is attempting to launch a payload to a “geostationary” location about 22,000 miles above the ground, and then to ultimately boost it to 50,000 miles above the Earth, requiring the firing of upper stages to climb from low-Earth orbit to the higher altitude. The launch window, from Cape Canaveral, opens at 4:37 p.m. CT.

This is a big deal for SpaceX because it’s offering the launches to geostationary space at a cost of $50 million to $70 million, which undercuts a Russian ($100 million) and European ($200 million) alternative. This is the first attempt by SpaceX to fly its upgraded Falcon 9 rocket, with a payload, to geostationary orbit.

The upgraded Falcon 9 in a demo flight in September. (SpaceX)

A Luxembourg company, SES, is risking its 3.2-ton, $100 million SES-8 satellite on the flight.

If the flight is successful it will further bolster the credibility of SpaceX as it seeks to develop the technology to carry humans into space, by 2017, and it will further reduce the price of launching satellites into space.

These achievements benefit both consumers as well as those interested in the exploration of space.